Naruto: Hunter Killer
by Rorek11
Summary: AU. What if Sandaime realized Naruto had potential to be the best after he beat Mizuki? Naruto is put into a genin team trained by an ANBU sensei to be the elite of Konoha, a Hunter Killer. Follow him in his adventures with Team Shadow! Adventure, romance, angst, humor.
1. The New Team

Hey there! This is my first fanfic, EVER. Wish me luck!

Just a little info before you start reading. This story is an AU, starting out right after the whole Mizuki thing and Naruto stealing the scroll. So pretty early on. Also, in this timeline, Jiraiya came into Naruto's life much earlier, around when he was ten. He let Naruto sign a contract seal with the toads and trained him on how to use the Rasengan, but alas, Naruto was too young, and couldn't get past the last of the three steps. (He hadn't learned Shadow Clones yet), so Jiraiya left, saying he would return later, at an unspecified time to finish Naruto's training. Other than that, everything is the same. Naruto hadn't known about the fox until the Mizuki incidient, and he still doesn't know about his father. And reviews are welcome, and feedback is extremely helpful!

"Speaking"

_Thoughts _

_**Kyuubi**_

**__**I do not in any way own Naruto or any characters from the original Naruto series. The ones I made up, however are mine.

Chapter 1: The New Team

Naruto sat in the Hokage's office, waiting for the old man to speak. He nervously shifted in his seat as the Sandaime read over a report of what happened. A minute passed. Two minutes. Five minutes. Finally the old man spoke. "Well, Naruto," he said with his aged voice, "it seems you have proven you are a capable ninja by beating Mizuki. He was at chunin level, while you had not even been made a genin yet. Iruka made a wise decision in letting you pass." Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was not in trouble.

"Thanks granps. This means I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage. Believe it!" Naruto grinned his famous foxy grin. Sandaime smiled at the boy. He thought about the events of the past few hours. After Mizuki had been arrested, Naruto had been taken to the Hokage tower to talk with the old man. Hiruzen had been joyfully shocked when he saw the headband on Naruto. It seems fate wanted the boy to follow in his father's footsteps…

_He hasn't talked about the Kyuubi. Maybe it's better if I don't mention it. He's probably still getting used to the idea._ "Naruto, I've been thinking, and I believe you have enough skills to be put into our elite program." Naruto's mouth opened in shock, but before he could say anything, the Sandaime continued to speak. "Our elite program consists of two teams, with three genins and one ANBU sensei in each team. These six genins are trained to be Konoha's best of the best."

"Wow, really old man? I say bring it-"

"Wait Naruto, you have to understand something first." Naruto quieted down. "This program will push you to your limits and even beyond that. It is not for the faint of heart. Are you absolutely sure?" Naruto sat there for a second, staring at his feet, shadows covering his eyes.

"I'm ready, granps," Naruto said in a serious tone.

Sandaime raised an eyebrow at the usually hyperactive boy's seriousness. _I can't believe this is the same boy- _"BELIEVE IT!"

There it was.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up with more enthusiasm than he had ever woken up with before. He was going to meet his genin team today. Sandaime had given him a time and location two nights ago, after the Mizuki incident. The blonde had two hours before the scheduled meeting time. For the special occasion, Naruto had decided to get new clothes with some money he had been saving up. He decided if he was going to be "Elite", then he should dress like it. Grinning all the way to the kitchen, (which was connected to the living room and bedroom), he fixed himself a cup of instant ramen.<p>

After he had gulped his breakfast down, he put on his new clothes. Well, it wasn't exactly all that new. It was basically his old clothes, but instead of blue and orange, it was grey and black. Naruto glanced at the clock, and deadpanned. Only ten minutes until the rendezvous. The blonde bundle of energy burst out the door and ran toward the training grounds. On the way, he passed by Ichiraku Ramen. "Hi Ayame-chan!" he yelled as he sprinted past the girl.

"Was that Naruto?" Ayame shrugged and continued cleaning the dish she was working on.

Naruto finally spotted the training grounds in the distance. It was a large area surrounded by forest on three sides. The fourth side held a road that led back to the village. Near one of the trees, Naruto saw two figures. One was sitting on a branch a dozen feet or so up in the tree. The other was sitting at the base of the tree.

When the blonde got closer, he slowed to a walking pace and look upon his new teammates for the first time. Sitting at the base of the tree was a girl a little taller than Naruto. She had black hair tied in a ponytail that fell down a little lower than her shoulders. She was wearing a dark green tank top with black forearm bracers on both arms. She wore standard navy blue ninja pants and sandals. When she looked up at the approaching boy, her piercing purple eyes seemed to smile, and Naruto's heart flipped in his chest. _She's... beautiful. _He stopped around ten feet from the tree.

"Hi there!" Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Hi, I'm Shinkei Sentoki." After a long pause, she smiled tentatively. _He seems to be in a good mood._

But her smile faded as a figure dropped down from the tree. The figure stood up as Naruto looked upon him. The boy had spiky hair, similar to Naruto's, but it was vermilion red. His eyes matched his hair, and he was dressed in all tan clothes, save his blue ninja sandals. "Great, a hyperactive, grinning idiot." Naruto glared at the boy.

"You wanna go, pal?" Naruto said through clenched teeth.

The boy frowned. "No...at least not yet." A pause. "Naruto, huh? I guess I should tell you my name if we're gonna be rivals." He smirked. "I'm Izo Gankona, and I'm going to be Hokage one day!"

"No way in hell a red headed teme like you is gonna be Hokage. That job is reserved for ME!" Naruto pointed at himself with his thumb. "Believe it!" The two boys glared at each other. Sparks seemed to fly between their eyes.

A new voice resounded from behind Naruto. "Calm down you two. I don't need my team bickering amongst themselves." It was an alluring feminine voice. Naruto turned, Shinkei stood up, and Izo's eyes widened. There standing right behind Naruto was a female ANBU with a fox-like mask. Long, light green hair flowed down to her waist. She was dressed in standard ANBU attire, except she carried no sword behind her. _I didn't even hear her, or anything, _Naruto thought in fascination.

"Who're you?" Izo asked.

"You can call me Kurai-sensei." Kurai looked down to the blonde in front of her. _T__his kid looks exactly like him... _"Well, welcome to Team Shadow. Let's start by talking a little bit about ourselves. My name is Kurai Sumato. I like ramen, and I hate people who don't care about others. I always wanted to be ANBU when I was a little genin, so I'd say I was pretty successful in my plans for the future. I specialize in...well you'll find out eventually." Her voice carried a smile as she said the last part. "You, purple-eyes. You're next."

"Shinkei Sentoki. I like meeting new people, and I dislike people who judge other's by their cover." She shifted her gaze to Izo, who snorted upon understanding her implication. "When I grow up, I want to settle down with a nice man and have kids who'll grow up to become great ninja. I specialize in water element jutsu and chakra sensory."

"Impressive. Alright, you next, red-head."

"My name is Izo Gankona. I like training, and I dislike annoying people. I'm going to be Hokage! I specialize in earth element jutsu and mole summonings."

"Short but to the point. Okay, blondie, your turn.:

Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, too! I hate people who judge me. I'M going to be Hokage, so I can protect everyone in the village. I specialize in Shadow Clones and toad summonings."

Kurai smiled. "Well then. I think that's enough for today. Meet here tomorrow, at the same time. Don't be late." She formed the Ram seal and burst into black smoke. When it cleared, she was gone.

Naruto frowned. They had not even done anything! _I guess sensei knows best..._

"Well that was a waste of time. See you two tomorrow!" Naruto shouted as he ran off to his apartment. He was starving. How long had it been since he had eaten? Too long.

His teammates kept their gazes on him as he ran. Shinkei was the first to speak. "He's an odd one."

* * *

><p>In the dimly lit Hokage's office, Kurai walked out of the shadows, but the darkness seemed to cling to her anyway. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"<p>

The Hokage took a few puffs from his pipe. "I have a mission for you. S-ranked. It will last for a while. Are you up to it?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama. I live to serve you."

"The mission is actually quite simple. It doesn't seem like an S-class, but trust me, it is. Only someone of your caliber can handle this."

Kurai was slightly confused, but kept quiet. After a long pause, the Sandaime spoke again.

"Train Naruto to be the best."


	2. The Training Session

Hey guys! I want just want to give a few author notes. So basically, I have a general idea where this story is going to go. It's going to be multiple chapters, but I have no idea how many. I just depends on the story, I guess. I also ask you to review, if it's not too much trouble. It really helps!

The chapters are going to get longer and longer as the story goes (or at least I'm going to try). The reason is I want to sort of test out the story, see if people like it with shorter chapters in the beginning. Right now, I will TRY and update every day, maybe even twice a day if I have the time. But as time goes and, like I said, the chapters get longer, I will update every few days, or every week. Cause, y'know, the story will be more complex, and longer chapters means more writing time. So just a heads up. Here's chapter 2!

I do not in any way own Naruto or any characters from the original Naruto series. The ones I made up, however are mine.

Chapter 2: The Training Session

Naruto woke to the beeping of his alarm clock. He sleepily hit the snooze button, missing several times before he got his target. He had a strange feeling in his gut, like he was frogetting something. Oh well, it was probably nothing. He got up and walked to the sink. After turning on the water, he splashed his face with water. He got dressed in his new black and grey outfit, and began heating up his breakfast. After the one minute ramen was cooked, he sat down on his bed and began eating. He finished and sat there. Thinking. He knew he had to do something...but what?

_Shit._

He burst out the door, barely having enough time to lock it as he ran to the training grounds. He only had two minutes. Normally that wouldn't have been a problem. But he wanted to make a good first impression. One minute and he was half way there. Just as his internal clock told him two minutes had passed, he reached the training grounds. Over in the distance, he saw his two teammates sitting on the grass in front of Kurai.

Jogging over and sitting down next to Shinkei, Naruto greeted the group. After they greeted him back, Kurai got to business. "First thing I want to do is change out of this ANBU uniform. I mean, if I'm your sensei, you might as well know who I am." She formed a Ram seal and burst into black smoke. When the smoke cleared, Kurai was dressed completely differently. She had standard black ninja jeans and sandals. She wore a sleeveless white shirt under a dark green jounin flak jacket. Black fingerless gloves covered her hands. Her ANBU mask had been removed, revealing her green bangs, pink lips, and small nose. But her most prominent feature were her amber eyes.

She smiled warmly. "There we go. Now that we got that out of the way, we can start the test."

The three genin looked confused. "Test, sensei?" asked Izo.

"Yes. In a nutshell, you three will fight me full force so I can test your skills. Any questions?"

Naruto raised his hand. "Yes, Naruto?"

"Will you be going at us full force?"

Kurai laughed, almost maniacally. "You'll see." After a pause for any more questions Kurai took a fighting stance. "The test starts...now."

As soon as she said that, the three genin flew into different directions, all hiding in one way or another. Kurai sighed. _Not even one of the tried to take me head on. Oh well- _"Well Kurai-sensei, looks like it's me and you!" Naruto was standing a few dozen feet in front of the jounin. _He make look like him, but this kid's personality is just like her. _

Without speaking, Kurai's hands flashed through a dozen seals in less that a few seconds. Naruto blinked in surprise but made his own seal and yelled, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Suddenly, there were a hundred black-clad Narutos.

Kurai was surprised, but didn't show it. She finished the last seal and put her hand to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" Suddenly the battlefield was covered in black smoke. Instead of clearing at it's usual pace, the smoke dissipated as if pushed by wind. Kurai was sitting atop a giant dragon flying over the Narutos. The dragon slammed down on the ground, instanly dissipating half the clones. The other half charged, kunai and shuriken in hand. The dragon roared and beat away at the clones.

After about a minute, white smoke filled the dragon's vision. All of a sudden, the real Naruto was in mid-air, holding a swirling ball of blue energy. Kurai was stunned. _That's...that's the...  
><em>  
>"Rasengan!" Naruto shoved the chakra sphere into the dragon's nose, but as soon as it made contact, it dissipated. <em>Shit! It's the same as before.<em>

_He doesn't have the necessary amount of chakra control. _Kuria smiled. This was some boy. Naruto dropped to the ground. He looked dissapointed, but he kept his focus on his sensei and her summon.

All of a sudden the jounin heard Izo yell from above her. "Earth Release: Earth Armor Jutsu!" She looked up and say a rock armored Izo drop down full force on her dragon, who dissapeared from the impact. Landing gracefully, Kurai hand flashed through several seals before Izo rammed into her with a couple tons of force. She exploded into a log. Izo, on full alert now felt a hand around his armored ankle. He looked down and heard a whisper.

"Headhunter Jutsu." Izo was pulled down in a blink of an eye. Kurai smiled as stood on top of Izo's head with one foot. "Your second attack was too up front. Tsk, tsk." She jumped off as the rock covering Izo's body exploded. "I didn't think that jutsu could hold an earth user like you down for very long, but getting out that quickly is impressive."

Izo didn't speak. His earth armor had fallen off. The red-head's hands flashed through seals as he put his hand down. "Summoning Jutsu!" Two man sized moles dressed in armor appeared in front of him in a puff of smoke.

_He's very skilled if he can summon two creatures without drawing blood first._ Kurai smiled. She expected nothing less. Her hands started to form a seal, but Izo used Shunshin to appear in front of her and stop her seals. Then the two moles dug down at the same time.

Izo smiled. "Earth Release: Ground Collapse Jutsu." The ground below the two collapsed, making a loud boom that resounded across the training field. Izo poofed into a rock, and he appeared next to Naruto, who was stunned. Where Kurai and Izo had been standing, there was a giant hole, with a diameter of at least a hundred feet. Izo still had a smirk on his face.

"Well, your techniques are certainly not the subtle type." Izo and Naruto turned their heads slowly, eyes wide, as they felt kunai pressed against their backs. The jounin had a grin on her face. Then Izo poofed into a Naruto, grinned and dissapeared along with the other Naruto. Kurai stopped grinning. _Two clones and a henge? Impressive, blondie. _Then she faintly heard footsteps behind her. Spinning around, she blocked a punch from Naruto, but another Naruto appeared behind her and grabbed her in a full nelson.

The Naruto that appeared in front of her dissapeared, and in its place was Shinkei, hands flashing through seals. Finishing on the Dog seal she shouted, "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!" She puckered her lips andleaned forward as bullet shaped water projectiles shot from her mouth toward Kurai.

_Not good._ Kurai elbowed Naruto, who didn't puff away in smoke. _Ah, the real one. _She somersaulted to her left, and the water bullets hit Naruto, the last one landing square in his chest. He grunted and flew backwards. Shinkei gasped as apologies were soon assaulting Naruto. She ran to him and helped him up. The jounin chuckled. Naruto saw her hold up a Boar seal, and all of a sudden, Shinkei fainted and dropped to the floor. Izo, who had been watching a few hundred feet away, also fainted.

Kurai stared at Naruto, seemingly surprised. "That's right, genjutsu doesn't work on Jinchuuriki. Well, at least simple ones won't work on you. If you want to avoid my more complex ones, you need to be trained to work with your Bijuu." Naruto took in the information like a sponge. So she was a genjutsu user. And apparently a very adept one.

_So she knows about that...thing inside me._ Naruto growled. He went through the seals. Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. "Summoning Jutsu!" Gamabunta appeared under Naruto, pipe in his mouth and sword at his side.

"Huh? Where am I? Oh, Naruto. What now? I was just in the middle of playing a game of cards with Gamahiro and Gamaken. I had a full house, too..." Gamabunta grumbled a bit more. "So what is it? I wanna get back as soon as possible."

"This lady here is my sensei. She's testing my skills. I need you to help me defeat her."

Gamabunta thought about it for a while. "Nope." And without letting Naruto argue, he formed a Ram seal and dissapeared in a giant puff of smoke.

"WHAAAAT!" Naruto yelled as he pouted. "Ugh, he's such a primadona. NEXT TIME I'LL CALL GAMAKEN TO HELP ME!" Naruto yelled the last part as he shook his fist in a very animated way. After more mumbling to himself, he faced his sensei, ready for battle again. She had a raised eyebrow. "Ugh...sorry sensei."

"It's still your move, blondie." She smirked. Naruto got serious again. On the inside he was worried about his teammates. He needed to find a way to get them out of the genjutsu. But the Ero-Sennin had never taught him that!

_I have an idea, but if it doesn't work, I'll look like an idiot._

Forming his signature seal, he shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Dozens of Narutos surrounded Kurai. Not even waiting a split second, they charged her. She maneuvered around every one of their attacks with such fluid movements that Naruto was mesmerized. She was taking out a lot of the clones. Smoke covered the battlefield.

All of a sudden, a rock that was below the jounin transformed into a Naruto and tired to uppercut her. She barely moved back in time to dodge, but the Naruto smirked. He burst into smoke, temporarily blinding the green-haired woman temporarily. She heard a whirling sound. She opened her eyes to see two Narutos running toward her. One of them was a little behind the other and had both hands on a Rasengan, while the other was holding it with his right hand. "RASENGAN!" And suddenly the jounin felt a spinning sensation on her stomach. She looked down in time to see the chakra sphere hitting her in the abdomen. Then she flew in a spinning motion, getting pushed back a few hundred feet before crashing into a tree.

Naruto grinned. But it soon faded away as he realized what he had done. Then, "Very good. You managed to beat one of my clones. You passed the test." Naruto looked up to see Kurai sitting casually on a tree. He looked down and saw Shinkei and Izo waking up, whatever genjutsu they had been under having been released. They looked with surprise at Naruto, Izo with a rivalrous look, and Shinkei with admiration.

Then Kurai spoke up again. "Now you are officially part of Team Shadow." She smiled beautifully. "Congratulations."

* * *

><p>So I decided since the first chapter had no action in it, that I would give you guys an early holiday gift. As usual, please review, favorite, and feel free to PM me. Next chapter, Team Shadow gets their first mission. Stay tuned!<p>

EDIT: I had a little trouble with the italics, so I went back and italicized everything that needed to be.


	3. Team Shadow's First Mission

Hey there! Just wanted to say I had some italicizing troubles last chapter, but that's all fixed now. This chapter is going to start a myriad of adventures for Team Shadow. It's time for their first mission! Will they succeed? Will they completely fail? Read on to find out! :D

I do not in any way own Naruto or any characters from the original Naruto series. The ones I made up, however are mine. If I did own Naruto, it would be NaruSaku all the way!

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Team Shadow's First Mission<p>

The sun had barely risen from the horizon when four figures dashed out of Konoha's front entrance. Of course, in the early hours of the day, there was nobody awake to see the shinobi. But if there had been anyone, they would have thought it was odd that these four figures were seemingly in a rush.

Good thing, because Team Shadow didn't want anyone to know they were late to their first mission.

"Shinkei, I told you 8:00 A.M sharp! Even Naruto was here early."

"I-I'm sorry, sensei. It-it's just that-"

"Nevermind. Let's get going. We're late enough as it is."

The mission was simple enough. A C-ranked escort, lasting two days, starting from a village in the Land of Corn Stalks back to Konoha. It would take about three hours for the shinobi to get there by tree top, but two days to get back while escorting the civilians.

"Sensei, how come we get a C-rank for our first mission?" Naruto asked. He put a little extra energy into one of his jumps and kept up a pace next to the jounin.

"Hokage-sama didn't explain much to you about this elite program, did he?" Naruto shook his head. "Well basically, this is a junior ANBU program. Six of Konoha's best Academy students are put into two teams, each led by a veteran ANBU."

"But then why wasn't Sasuke-teme put into this elite thingy?"

Kurai raised her eyebrow. "The Uchiha? He may have been top of his class, but that shows nothing for true skill. When I mean the top of the Academy, I mean they know very high level jutsu for their age. As you saw with Izo's earth technique yesterday, he left a gaping hole in the earth that would have take any veteran chunin with it."

Izo spoke up from behind Naruto. "That's my most powerful technique. I use the two moles to dig dozens of tunnels to weaken the support underneath the target. Then I use simply cause a miniature earthquake and it collapses."

Naruto stored the information for later use. This was after, first hand info from his rival. Then Kurai continued. "A normal genin would not know that right after graduation. As with Shinkei and her chakra sensory. It takes a very long time to hone one's skill with chakra sensory. Shinkei, if I may inquire, how far can you sense chakra on normal conditions?"

Shinkei, a bit to the left of Izo, thought for a second. "About a mile." Naruto silently gaped his mouth in shock.

The jounin spoke up again after a few minutes. "It would take a shinobi a few years to learn to sense that far. And usually genin do not even know they have the potential to become a sensory type. They learn in their later years as a chunin. But as it is, Shinkei here learned one way or another. One of the many reasons she is in this program."

Shinkei blushed and looked down. Naruto took a serious expression and thought for a bit. _These two have such amazing abilities. I bet they could take me down in an instant._ "Sensei, why am I here?" Naruto shot an inquisitive glance towards Kurai.

She smiled at his question. _He doubts his own abilities._ "Well, Naruto, there are three reasons, at least in my humble opinion, why you were put in such a highly esteemed genin team. For one, you have potential, which I'm sure Hokage-sama saw very early on. Secondly, you beat a veteran chunin, when you had not even been passed as a genin. Finally, you have a monstrous amount of chakra. If I think back on the history of Konoha, I could recall only one, maybe two people who had more than you."

Naruto's eyebrows raised in surprise. _She didn't say it, but I know I'm also here because of the Kyuubi. They want to keep a close eye on me, in case something goes wrong._ Even with that thought, the blonde grinned at the thought of having immense amounts of chakra. _I guess that's why I have such horrible chakra control..._

"Okay everyone, we're here." The four ninja all dropped down the ground. They were at the entrance to a village. There were a lot of people outside, women washing dishes and sharing gossip, men sitting and talking about recent events, and little kids running around playing children games. A lot of people stopped and stared at the newcomers. It wasn't every day four armed people walked into your small village. "Our employers should be near the back of the village, in a two story house with a cherry tree in the front yard." After a few minutes of walking, and taking directions from some of the locals, they spotted the house in the distance.

"I want everyone on their best behavior. That means no bickering, Izo and Naruto!" The two boys pouted, crossed their arms, and looked away from each other. Their sensei sighed and facepalmed. "Shinkei, make sure they don't kill each other."

The kunoichi smiled widely and nodded an affirmative. "Yes, ma'am!" She turned around to the two boys and gave them the scariest look she could muster. "If you two make me look bad in front of Kurai-sensei, I swear I'll make sure you'll never be able to have kids." The boys cowered in fear and seemed to shrink in size. _I guess my scary face is having the desired effect._

The two boys whimpered. "Yes, ma'am," they both stammered. Then the three genin followed their sensei to the front door. The green-haired ANBU knocked three times. A few seconds passed by until a timid looking girl opened the door a few inches. She had brown waist length hair, and seemed to be about the age of seven or eight. She seemed to eye the shinobi suspiciously.

Kurai smiled warmly, which was hard to resist. "Hey there, little one. We're here to escort you and your father to Konoha." The girl seemed to relax a bit. She opened the door fully, and a man appeared behind her from another room. "Hello, you must be Koruka-san, right?"

The man nodded with a smile. "That's right. And you must be the Konoha shinobi." He looked past Kurai to the three genin. "Ugh...aren't they a little young? And the blonde one seems a little short."

A tick appeared on Naruto's head. "WHO YOU CALLIN' SHORT, OLD MAN?" Before he could continue, Shinkei wrapped her arm around his neck and squeezed, cutting off his oxygen source. As Naruto waved his arms around comically, Shinkei apologized. "I'm sorry for my teammates...outburst. He can be easily angered." Then she whispered to Naruto so no one else could hear. "Are you trying to make us look bad, baka?" She let go, resulting in Naruto landing on his face. He flipped onto his back and gasped for air.

Before she could be interrupted any more, Kurai continued. "Well, if we are to reach Konoha in two days, we better head out now. Do you have everything packed?"

Koruka nodded. "We don't have much anyway. Just a few sentimental items and the clothes on our backs. We sold everything else so we could afford a place in Konoha and an escort there. I would do anything to keep my daughter safe." The little girl smiled shyly. "Well, let's get going Hana. No point in staying here any longer." The man grabbed a single backpack, slung it around his shoulders and started walking in the direction of Konoha.

"Naruto, you and Shinkei take the back. Izo and I will take the front." Izo followed their sensei, then went to walk in the very front, about ten feet in front of everyone else. Kurai walked next to Koruka and Hana, and Naruto and Shinkei walked a dozen or so feet behind the group. "I assure you, Koraku-san, you and your daughter will reach Konoha without so much as a scratch on you." Kurai smiled. She and Koraku made small talk, she asking about his daughter, and he asking about life in Konoha.

"Hey, Shinkei, whach'ya doing?" Naruto laced his fingers together and held them up behind his head, as he usually did when he walked.

"Well, that depends on how you're asking the question, Naruto. If you mean it in a way where you really want to know what I'm doing physically, obviously nothing of importance. Which means you just wanted to engage in a conversation with me to pass the time. If you meant what are you doing mentally, to know what I was thinking about, then I would have explain to you the inner workings of my thoughts, for I was thinking of a hundred different things before you spoke to me. In which case, you still wanted to engage me in small talk. So either way, I know your intentions Naruto."

"...What?"

Shinkei sighed. "I'm doing nothing Naruto."

"Well why didn't you just say so? Sheesh." Another minute passed. "Are we there yet, Shinkei?"

"I believe we have another day, twenty-three hours, and fifty-six minutes left."

"Wow, time passes by quickly."

"Oh, Naruto..."

Up ahead, Koraku was waving his final goodbyes to the villagers he had known most of his life. Hana ran to hug a few of her friends before running back to her father's side. After many farewells, they were finally out of the village. Koraku took a deep breath. "Ahhh, the fresh air of a new beginning. I can't wait to get to Konoha! You've told me so much about it, I'm eager to see it for myself."

"I assure you, Koraku-san, it is a beautiful place with many wonderful people." Kurai smiled at Hana. "And there are many children to play with, little one. I'm sure a friendly kid like you should make friends in no time." The little girl smiled back.

Izo had been practicing his seals, but other than asking his sensei the situation every once in a while, he stayed quiet and interacted little with the others. Shinkei and Naruto had been talking since they had left the small village about random things. Ramen, water jutsu, kangaroos, cake, and even the weather managed to work their way into the conversation.

"So you're telling me you ate thirty-seven bowls of ramen in one siting?"

"Yup! But I was REALLY hungry. Normally I only eat from ten to twelve. And I go with Iruka-sensei sometimes. He treats me as often as he can. It's really fun. You should come with me sometime! In fact after this mission is over with, we should get a bite to eat at Ichiraku Ramen. It's the best place ever. I promise you'll like the food!" He grinned enthusiastically.

Shinkei giggled, her laughter like sweet honey. "Well how could I refuse such a cute face? You got yourself a date, blondie!"

Naruto's draw dropped at the last part. _A...a date?_ His voice carried throughout the forest. "WOOHOO, I'M GOING ON A DATE!"

"Shut up, baka! I don't want the whole world to know about it! Ugh...Naruto..."

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><p>Well, here's chapter 3! I know nothing really happens, but I thought there were some really funny parts, especially between Shinkei and Naruto. I finished this really late, so there might be a few spelling and grammar mistakes. I'll be sure to edit any major ones tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this! Tomorrow, we meet a mysterious hooded stranger who might play a bigger role than you think. Next time, in Chapter 4: The Hooded Man Makes His Entrance!<p> 


	4. The Hooded Man Makes His Entrance

Hey guys!I wanted to let you guys and gals know I'm going to start posting chapters every other day. The reason is quite simple. If I post every day, the quality of my chapters aren't going to be what I want them to be. I just don't have enough hours in the day to type up a well written chapter in one day. So from now on, I will update every other day, unless something comes up.

To one of the reviews by "Me", if you read the beginning intro, it answers your question. In this timeline, Jiraiya comes into Naruto's life earlier. Naruto learned summoning, and he almost learned Rasengan. Now that he has Shadow Clones, he can do Rasengan with no problem.

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. However, all made up characters are mine. :)

Chapter 4: The Hooded Man Makes His Entrance!

A day had passed since Naruto and the gang had left the village. So far, they had gone without incident. The first day had passed by with nice weather, lots of friendly talking, and the discovery of a good camp location. After a good night sleep, they had continued early on in the morning, much to Naruto and Izo's displeasure. A quick breakfast had revealed Naruto's massive appetite to the rest of the team. "Jeez, Naruto, are you sure you have a stomach? I think it's just a black hole." Izo remarked. Naruto just grinned and continued to chow down.

Now that it was noon, the sun was high into the sky, beating warmth onto the companion's heads. The genin had switched around positions, Naruto was now in front, while Shinkei and Izo treaded near the back. Koraku and Hana were still in the middle with Kurai, all three enjoying the beautiful scenery. The genin in the rear were in a heated discussion about most recent Konoha Idol. "Just shut up, Izo! Hiroki definitely deserved to win. She had the most amazing voice, and the judges even expressed their opinions that they thought she was going to win."

"Shinkei, you have no idea what you're talking about. Gezo totally deserved to win. He was so much more popular among the villagers, and he knew how to keep good public relations to win over voters. Just admit he's better."

"I admit Gezo was smart for all of that, but it doesn't erase the fact that Hiroki still had the better voice! That's what Konoha Idol is all about. The voice. How can you stand there and tell me that she didn't deserve to-"

"Shhh!" Shinkei and Izo stopped talking immediately and stood in place, staring at their sensei Naruto paused as well, looking back to see what was going on. Kurai seemed to be on alert, with her hand up to tell her team to stop. She was scanning the surrounded wilderness. "Take formation around Koraku-san and his daughter. Do not break unless I say so, and NOT before that." The three genin, with very confused looks, hurried and made a triangle around the two, who were equally confused and even more worried.

Kurai stood a few feet in front of the group, eyes moving rapidly and crouching ever so slightly. The tension was palpable, and the waiting did nothing to raise it. All of a sudden, a dozen kunai and shuriken flew from a nearby tree towards Kurai. She turned around just in time to see them, but not quick enough to react. "SENSEI!" Kurai's limp form hit the ground, her body littered with weapons. All of a sudden, a man in a black cloak with his hood pulled up appeared two dozen feet down the road.

"Well, well, well. That was much easier then I thought it would be. Now time for-" Kurai's body poofed into a log, and the man grunted as two kunai hit both of his legs each. Then a shadow attached to nothing slithered next to the log that used to be Kurai. It slowly rose from the ground, taking on a human shape with very ink-like movements. Then, once it looked like a silhouette of Kurai, color returned, starting from the head, and the black shadow crawled down to take its place as the jounin's again. She stood there, with a hardened look on her face.

The man chuckled, and although his face was completely covered by the hood's shadow, it was apparent he was smiling. "I shouldn't have underestimated Konoha's own 'Shadow Blade'. Very foolish of me to overlook that kekkai genkai of yours."

_Sensei has a kekkai genkai?_ Naruto thought in awe. _I wonder what it is..._

"Just because you've heard rumors of my kekkai gennkai, doesn't make it so you know all about it. There's much to it you don't know and will never know." The man chuckled again and pulled out the two kunai. As quick as a snake, he threw them at the genin, one aimed for Naruto, the other at Shinkei. At the same time, his hand flashed through several seals before yelling, "Fire Release: Grand Fireball Jutsu!", and blowing the attack at Kurai.

All while this was happening, Kurai's own hands were going through two sets of seals. When she was done, a clone of her melted into existence from her shadow and she yelled, "Dark Release: Shadow Vortex Jutsu." She extended her hands in front of her and a black hole appeared in front of her palms. It absorbed the entire fireball, and during this, Kurai's Dark Clone intercepted both of the man's kunai with her own.

The stranger didn't give Kurai any time to attack back. He formed the Serpent seal. Mud gathered next to him and formed a clone of the man. Each one ran at the real Kurai, but not in a straight line. One of them curved his path to the jounin and the other jumped high in the air to attack from the air. The one on the ground performed the Serpent seal again. "Earth Release: Giant Fist Jutsu." Rock formed around his right hand and formed a fist ten time bigger than the man's real fist. The one in the air ran through seals that ended with Tiger. "Fire Release: Pheonix Flower Jutsu." He opened his mouth and dozens of little fire projectiles sped towards Kurai.

The jounin's hands were not even visible as she ran though several dozen seals in a matter of seconds. "Dark Release: Shadow Dragon Roar Jutsu!" From her shadow, an giant dragon formed, its tail still connected to Kurai's right foot from it's tail. It opened its maw and let out a fearsome roar, the shockwave blasting back both of the men, the clone with the earth fist dissolving back into mud. The man's fire jutsu was redirected over his head as he landed.

Kurai's shadow dragon slowly melted back into her regular shadow. "It's done." She said simply. The man growled.

"What are you talking about? Don't act so arrogant. I-" He stopped in mid sentence. He slowly looked back and saw a kunai pressed to his neck, held by another Kurai. "When did you find the time to form a seal to summon this clone? I was watching you the whole time."

Kurai smirked for a second. "You didn't see my hands when they were covered by my shadow vortex." The man growled again, more feral this time. "Like I said, you're done." Then, all of a sudden the man started to laugh maniacally.

"Good job. I'm very impressed. Next time, though, you won't have such an easy time with the real me." Then the Kurai behind him stabbed the man's neck, but he disappeared in a small release of smoke.

"Damn, a clone." Kurai's eyebrows knit together.

Naruto was the first to speak. "Who was that?" The was silence for a few seconds.

"I don't know, Naruto. I don't know." Kurai scanned a bit more, but seemed to relax. "Let's get going. We should hurry." She thought for a bit more and turned to Koraku. "Do you mind if two of us carry you on our backs? We'll be there within the hour like that, and we won't have to worry about any more attacks."

Koraku, who seemed shaken up, nodded without a word. "Naruto, you take Koraku-san. Shinkei take Hana. That way I won't have to worry about either of them on my back if we run into more trouble. The two did as they were told, Naruto grunting as he lifted the man. "Will you be able to go all the way to Konoha like that, Naruto?" He nodded, but she could see he was having a little trouble. "Alright...let's get going."

With a sprinting start, they jumped into the trees, and continued from one branch to the next. "Koraku-san, can you think of any reason that someone would want to attack you? More specifically, a ninja, and a powerful one at that."

The man shook his head. "No. I've never even been outside my village except for a few ventures into the wilderness. And I've never made enemies with anyone."

"Then that means this was an attack on us ninja, and by extension, Konoha. If that ninja is part of another village, then it was an act of war. We have to hurry back to the village so we can report this to Hokage-sama."

With that said, the companions redoubled their efforts to get home faster. Most of the trip went without incident. Once, however, Kurai threw several shuriken into a bush, but it turned out to be a squirrel. Once they got to the main entrance, Naruto and Shinkei set the two down. Kurai noticed Naruto breathing heavily, but he didn't complain. _Tough kid._

"Thank you so much, Kurai-san. I'm sure we can go safely from here." The man bowed. "Say thank you, Hana."

The shy girl, blushed under all the attention, but slowly said, "Thank you." Then, she hid behind her father.

He smiled. "Thank you, again. See you around, hopefully!" He waved, and Team Shadow waved back, all of them smiling.

"Ok, you three. You're free to go. I'll report to Hokage-sama. Good job on your first mission. You all listened to orders perfectly. I'm proud of you all." She smiled.

The three genin separated from their jounin, and she headed towards the Hokage tower. Shinkei, almost right after, departed as well without a word. "What a jerk. He didn't even say bye." Naruto scowled at the boy as he rounded a corner, disappearing from view. "So, Shinkei, you know you promised me that date, right?"

"Ya, I remember, don't worry. But I'm tired and sweaty, and so are you. Besides, you need a rest from carrying Koraku-san all this way. We'll go tomorrow, I promise. You did good, Naruto." She giggled. "See you later."

"Bye, Shinkei!" The blonde headed to his apartment. As soon as he unlocked the door, he fell on the floor. _I'm glad I didn't go on that date today. Too...tired..._

And he knocked out.

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><p>Hey guys, sorry about the late chapter. My finals are coming up, so I was busy studying. Anyway, thanks for reading, and review if you can. It really helps! :)<p> 


	5. The Date, the Chase, and the Flowers

Again, sorry for the late update, guys. I was really sick Monday and Tuesday, and I still have finals next week. Plus, I got The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and I've been playing a lot. I love the game so much, and it definitely deserves Game of the Year. Anyway, I might make a fan-fic about that. One of my all time favortie games ever. So ya, really busy. But I always try to put in time for you guys. Anyway, here's chapter 5!

I do not own Naruto. (Although I wish I did.) But I own the all the characters I made up.

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><p>Chapter 5: The Date, the Chase, and the Flowers<p>

A knocking sound. The blonde goes to open the door. "Hey Naruto!"

"Oh, hey Shinkei."

"You ready to go on that date, now that we're both refreshed from yesterday?"

He grinned. "Of course! TO ICHIRAKU RAMEN!"

Shinkei giggled. "C'mon, you hyperactive ninja. Let's get going.: He nodded, and they set off to Naruto's favorite restaurant. On the way there, Naruto randomly looked up and saw an eagle in the sky. He paid no mind to it at first, but after looking at it carefully, he noticed it didn't look like an eagle. While he was walking, he turned his head to his teammate. "Shinkei, do you see that thing in the sky? I can't tell what it is."

She looked up. After a few seconds of squinted eyes, an expression of shock appeared on her face. "Is that a dragon?"

Naruto focused even more. "Holy cow, it is. What's it doing?" There was a few seconds of silence, but before either of them could say anything, the dragon disappeared from sight when it flew into the clouds. "Well, no use wasting time thinking about it now. Let's keep going."

Shinkei, however, thought about all the way to the ramen stand. _Didn't Kurai-sensei summon a dragon during our first training session? I wonder..._

Naruto interrupted her thoughts as he dragged her the last twenty feet. "Hey Ayame-chan!" The two genin sat down.

The brunette turned around from washing dishes. "Oh, hi Naruto. And who's this?" She smiled devilishly. "Your girlfriend, Naruto?"

"What? Girlfriend? No-"

"She's pretty. Count yourself lucky, Naruto. I wish the best for both of you."

"Ayame-chan, it's not like that." Naruto tried to explain, but apparently Ayame wasn't hearing any of it.

"What can I get you, Naruto's girlfriend?"

Shinkei had an amused look on her face. It was interesting to see Naruto in an uncomfortable position. He didn't seem like the kind of person who was easily embarrassed, but obviously girls were a...different matter. "I'll have whatever Naruto-_kun_ haves." She added the honorific with a little emphasis. Naruto looked at her, dumbstruck.

"Two miso-pork ramen bowls, coming up!" Ayame went gave the order to her father, who started the work. Ayame went back to cleaning dishes.

Naruto had a look of defeat, and continued on the subject no further. "So what do you think that dragon was doing?"

"I don't know, Naruto. But remember that Kurai-sensei summoned a dragon before, so maybe she has something to do with it." Shinkei shrugged. "We'll ask her next time we see her."

Naruto nodded, and just as the conversation ended, their ramen was ready. "Thanks, old man!"

"No problem, Naruto."

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto yelled. The two genin dug into their bowls. Within the minute, Naruto was done. "Another one please, old man."

"Already got it." And Naruto started on his second bowl with more enthusiasm then his first. Another minute and a half and he was done with his second. Then his third. Then his fourth. And finally, his fifth. As soon as he had finished his fifth, Shinkei had eaten all of her first.

_How does he eat so much, so quickly?_ _He's like a bottomless pit._ "Well, that was pretty good. I've never had ramen before."

Naruto grinned. "It's the best. I don't know why I love it, I just do."

"Maybe one of your parents really likes ramen and it passed on to you. You should ask them."

Naruto's face dropped. "I...I don't have any parents."

Shinkei's face was immediately apologetic. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"It's fine. You didn't do anything." Naruto smiled, but Shinkei could easily see there was deep hurt lurking somewhere behind that smile.

"Naruto..."

"No, really, it's fine." A pause. "C'mon, I want to show you something. But I'll only show you if you catch me!" All of a sudden, Naruto got up and started running. Shinkei, confused, but excited, chased after him. They ran around the village, Naruto always managing to stay a dozen or so feet in front of Shinkei. All of a sudden, she put a burst of chakra into her feet, and closed the distance. Seeing this, Naruto put a burst of chakra into his own feet, gaining back the distance and more. Now he was two dozen feet from her.

"Damn. He has much more chakra than I do, so he can run faster and keep it up for longer." As they ran through streets, they happen to pass by Izo, buying an apple from a fruit vendor. Naruto, looking back to check on Shinkei, didn't see him and bumped into him.

"Watch it, teme!"

"You watch it, you're the one that ran into me, loser!" He saw Shinkei chasing after him and called out before she passed him. "What's happening."

Shinkei shrugged as she ran past him. "A game of tag?"

Izo just rolled his red eyes and continued on his way home.

Around fifteen minutes later, Naruto had ran around the entire village, with Shinkei close behind. He started to head towards the Hokage mountain. When he got there, he ran up the steps to get to the top. By the time they got to the top, Shinkei was out of breath. She had never run this much at once in her life. When she got to the top, she stole a glance of Naruto running into the forest line past the top of the heads of the Hokage Monument. "Ugh...Naruto, what are you up to?" She cautiously ran into the forest after him, alert of any possible ambushes.

"Umm, Naruto?" The trees were so close together that they blocked out most of the sunlight, giving an eerie twilight in the forest. She had stopped running and was looking around for any flashes of yellow so she could beat Naruto for dragging her into this forest. "When I find you, blondie, I swear I'm gonna-" She stopped mid sentence and stared at the wonder she had stumbled upon.

In the middle of this creepy forest was a small circular clearing that held no trees. It was maybe forty feet in diameter, and the way the light fell down upon the ground was beautiful. But the most amazing part was the small mound of earth in the middle of it all with two flowers growing out at the top. One of the flowers was black with a white center and the other was white with a black center. "Wow, these are beautiful."

Then she felt arms wrap around her waist from behind and heard a low voice whisper in her ear. "You found me, Shinkei." Shivers ran down her spine, and she pressed herself against the figures chest. But before she could say anything, the hands retreated and turned her around.

"Naruto?" Shinkei blinked in surprise. That couldn't have been Naruto. The arms that had wrapped around her were so muscular and protective, yet caring. The voice that had spoken to her was so strong-willed, passionate, and comforting. The chest she had pressed into was lined with abs, gained from hours of working out. There was no way that had been Naruto. But there was no one else with them, and she didn't think Naruto would have been able to fool her that easily.

"Who else?" He grinned.

A slight blush creeped itself onto her face. Luckily Naruto seemed not to notice, or he was just that oblivious to girls. He took her hand and walked her right next to the mound. "I don't remember when I found these, but I call them Yin-Yang flowers. No one else knows. You're the only one I've ever shown." Shinkei's blush deepened in color, and yet again, she was thankful of Naruto's obliviousness.

"I-I don't know what to say. They're beautiful. I've never seen their equal." She crouched to take a closer look at them. "Thank you so much, Naruto. You don't know how much this means to me." _He trusts me that much. Enough to show me something he's never shown anyone else._

"No problem!" Naruto seemed to radiate joy. Shinkei, done with her observing, stood up and hugged Naruto tightly. He was surprised at first, but gradually hugged her back. They stood like that for a minute, before Naruto interrupted. "I can't breath."

"Oh Kami! Sorry about that." She giggled and let go. "We better head back. Sensei might have another mission for us. And I feel bad for leaving Izo all alone." Naruto nodded and they set off for the steps heading back to the village. A peaceful quiet descended upon them as they enjoyed the beauty of the forest. Before either of them knew it, they were back in the village, among dozens of wandering citizens.

They just happen to cross paths with Izo again. "What was all that stuff earlier today?"

Naruto chuckled. "We were playing tag. Right Shinkei?" He winked with emphasis.

"Oh ya, _tag_." The black-haired genin laughed. Naruto joined her in a split second.

Izo just stood there with a confused look on his face. "Weirdos."

They began walking together. Naruto leading in the front with Shinkei close behind, while Izo was a little farther back, muttering about his psychotic team members. All of a sudden, Kurai jumped seemingly out of nowhere and landed in front of them. "Hey there, kido and company."

All three of them responded as one. "Hello, Kurai-sensei."

"I got to run on a real quick mission, but I just wanted to let you all know we're going on a team mission tomorrow morning. Be at the gates, seven o'clock. Oh, and we're going with another, regular, genin team and their sensei. All eight of us are going to the Land of the Waves to escort a master bridge builder." Kurai looked up into the sky briefly before continueing. "Apparently, he had paid for a C-rank mission, with one genin team as an escort, but Hokage-sama added our team, free of charge. He said it was to give us more experience. I mean, we _have_ been on only one mission."

She smiled, but on the inside, her thoughts were in turmoil. _What I can't tell you guys is that Hokage-sama spoke to me and Kakashi-taicho personally. He told us that he knew the bridge builder was hiding something, but did not know what. He was sending Team Shadow as a precautionary measure._ She sighed ever so slightly to herself, so her students couldn't hear her. _I hope he's wrong and nothing goes awry. But then again, I've never witnessed Hokage-sama being wrong before. Just my luck._

"Yay! Another mission!" Naruto was jumping with enthusiasm. Shinkei was already thinking on what to pack, and Izo was just watching Naruto jump around, thinking about how much energy the blonde had. Kurai simply waved goodbye and did a triple back flip to a nearby roof. As she headed off, she was laughing maniacally, for an unknown reason. Shinkei, now having checked off everything in her mental list, started to squeal in excitement. Naruto was still jumping around like a monkey.

Izo sighed and ran his hand through his vermilion-red hair. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

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><p>Hey guys! Finally finished this chapter. Sorry about the lateness, but like I said, finals are coming up. Anyway, to answer lady candace's question, there are pairinsg, but I will not name them yet, to keep you guys and gals guessing. So far, it seems to be Shinkei and Naruto, but you never know...I have a lot of plans for new and old charatcers. Until next time, in "Chapter 6: Mission to the Land of the Waves!"<p> 


	6. Mission to the Land of Waves

Welcome back, guys! Well, I know I haven't updated in a while, and I'm really sorry, but this week is much harder since it's finals week. But then I have three weeks of winter break, so you guys and gals will get much quicker updates, I promise. :D

Last chapter was more from Shinkei's point of view, and this one is going to go back to Naruto (for the most part). Soon, possibly next chapter, I'll do one from Izo's, but mostly throughout the story, it'll be from Naruto's POV. Also, if you can, please leave a review or private message me telling me what you guys think of my characters, what you like/dislike, what should change, etc. And maybe if you have an idea for something, go ahead and PM me. Who knows, I might like it and put it in! Well, anyway, I hope you like this chapter. :)

I don't own Naruto or any aspect of it, whatsoever. My own characters are mine, though.

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><p>Chapter 6: Mission to the Land of Waves!<p>

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><p>The alarm clock rang loudly in Naruto's ears. <em>I'm so not in the mood for this.<em> He sleepily rolled out of bed and lightly punched the clock, silencing it, at least until the next morning. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing bloodshot sclera and dilated pupils. He trudged along the floor of his apartment until he got to his closet. Opening it up, he gazed upon the dozen or so (now black and grey) jumpsuits.

He undressed out of his pajamas, until he was only in his orange boxers. Then, after jumping into his outfit, and making sure all his ninja gear was on him, he headed out, making sure to lock the door before he left.

As he walked the streets of Konoha, Naruto noticed many people giving him glaring scowls as he passed by. He payed them no heed, however, as he was used to the "attention". As he passed by his favorite place, Ichiraku Ramen, he waved to Ayame and Teuchi. They waved back and gave him warm smiles, so he returned it with his infamous foxy grin.

As he turned around to face forward, he bumped his shoulder into something hard and spun a little before falling on his butt. He rubbed the sore area and scowled. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

He looked up to see what he had bumped into, and his eyes settled on the back of a black robed figure with an ominous hood pulled up. "It's alright, Naruto. I forgive you." The blonde's eyes widened as he recognized the voice. He crawled backwards a little as the figure turned around fully.

It was the hooded man who attacked them before.

"W-what...what are y-you doing here in Konoha?" Naruto frantically pushed himself against the wall and stood up with it's support.

"Aren't you glad to see me again?" The man formed the Rat seal and the world around Naruto seemed to slow down until everything, including people walking, stopped completely. Every object's colors were changed and deformed, making the world very disorienting. Naruto however, found himself looking and feeling very normal. "It's a genjutsu. Oh, don't worry, not for you. For everyone else." Naruto heard the faint sound of a smile being formed.

"Genjutsu?" Naruto started to sweat lightly, beads forming on his forehead. He mumbled to himself. "How did he get in Konoha? How does he even know my name?"

"I'm not here to hurt you." A pause. "Too much." Naruto gulped, but then something unexpected happened. The man burst out laughing and was slapping his knee. After he recovered from his fit, he spoke again. "I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding."

Naruto, although still frightened, was very confused. _What's with this guy?_

Then the stranger became very serious again. "But, in all seriousness, I have need of you." His hands went through several seals, some naruto didn't even recognize.

Naruto gulped. "What are you going to-" And then the man spoke one last time before the darkness enveloped the blonde.

"Memory Inverse Placement Jutsu."

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><p>Naruto was about five minutes from the rendezvous point, but he had about ten minutes until he had to be there. "That's weird. It feels like I'm forgetting something. Something...important."<p>

It had been strange when he had been walking past Ichiraku Ramen earlier. After he had waved, he blinked, and he was suddenly on the floor where he had been standing. He found it strange, but when he asked Teuchi and Ayame, they just told him he had slipped and gotten right back up.

_I don't remember slipping. But there's no reason for the old man and Ayame-chan to lie to me, so I guess I just hit my head really hard._ He rolled his eyes at himself for being such a klutz and didn't think of it any more.

He continued walking with a very catchy beat in his head, and he synced his footsteps to the rhythm. _Doo, doo, doo, dee dah doo, doo doo doo, dee dah dooooooo!_

In the distance he spotted Shinkei and Izo walking together towards the meeting point. Their backs were to him, and a creepy, yet devilish smile spread across his face. "Time for some good old fashioned fun." He ducked into an alleyway and the sound of a soft _poof_ could be heard.

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><p>"I'm telling you, if you poke me one more time, I'll rip that red hair of yours off of your puny little head and shove it up your-"<p>

"Alright, alright. Jeez, I was just playing around Shinkei." The red-head smiled, satisfied with the girl's annoyance.

"Ugh, I hate boys." Shinkei thought for a bit. _Expect maybe Naruto. _But of course she wouldn't admit that to anyone.

"GOOOOOOOD MOOOOORNING SHINKEI!" She looked up to see a hundred Narutos falling from the sky, all with wide grins on their faces and each with a bucket of water in their hands.

_Never mind. I hate Naruto._ And then she and Izo were covered in water.

Ninety-nine Narutos disappeared, leaving one laughing wildly with tears in his eyes. "Oh..classic," he said between ragged breathes.

"NAAAARUUUUTOOOOO!"

The laughing stopped. "Uh-oh." The female genin had a look of pure rage on her face, as water dripped from her soaked clothes and hair.

"I'm gonna kill you, you baka!" She ran after him, charging like a bull, and Naruto scrambled up to get away. He was too late, and a fury-driven fist swiped him across the jaw, sending him flying into a wall face first. He stayed there for a few seconds before slowly sliding down.

"Ow." Naruto got up, rubbing his cheek, which now had a red fist print on it. "I guess I deserved that one."

"You are SO lucky I know a jutsu for this!" Shinkei went through four seals: Ox, Boar, Rabbit, Ram. She then placed a hand on the middle of her chest and spoke, "Water Release: Hydro Absorption Jutsu." Slowly, the water started receeding from her body into the front of her palm in the shape of a ball, starting from the top of her head and the bottom of her feet and spreading inward. In less than a minute, she was completely dry.

"Moron. I don't know why you had to get me." Izo grunted and ran a hand through his soaked hair.

"Sorry, teme, but you were in the way." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and smiled apologetically.

"Try not to get me involved with pranks you play on your girlfriend, Goldilocks." Izo stared menacingly. "Or else I'll trap you in an earth box in Suna so you can dry up like a raisin."

"Ya, ya, whatever. And she _isn't _my girlfriend, tomato brain." Shinkei, ignoring all of their comments, proceeded to dry off Izo, which took just as short a time as her own drying. Izo shot a rivaling look at Naruto, who stuck his tongue out childishly while he folded his arms.

_Good, that means I still have a chance with her._ Izo's heart quickened as he stared as Shinkei. She didn't notice, as she was too busy performing the jutsu. He looked away guiltily. _I shouldn't try and steal glances at her like that. If I can't tell her my feelings, then I don't deserve to look at her._

"There you go, Izo, all dry." Shinkei smiled warmly, which was the feeling in Izo's heart. For his own sake, he kept on a stone cold mask.

"Thanks." He shoved his hands into his pockets and brushed past his crush.

She looked at his back with a confused look. "What's his problem."

"He's just grumpy as always." Naruto interlocked his fingers and put them behind his head in Naruto-fashion and walked a few steps behind his rival. Shinkei shrugged as a single bead of sweat dropped from the back of her head.

"Boys."

Up in front Naruto and Izo sighed to themselves, both unaware of the other mumbling a single word.

"Girls."

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><p>"Well, there's the other team and Kurai-sensei."<p>

Naruto squinted to get a better view of their fellow genin squad. He saw a taller man with spiky white hair that was combed to one side, who must've been their jounin sensei. He looked at the three figures around the man, spotting the pink hair first. _Sakura-chan is here!_ He continued to the boy next to her. He was wearing a blue top with a high collar and shorts. White forearm covers hung loosely, and the boy's hands were in his pockets. _Ugh, it's Sasuke. My luck._

The last boy, who was to the left of Sakura and the right of Sasuke, was no one Naruto knew. He had dark greenish black hair that was swept to one side and long enough to cover his left eye. (AN: Like Suigetsu's or Sai's hair, but greenish black.) The boy wore camouflage pants and a simple black long-sleeved shirt. A leaf headband wrapped around the boy's neck.

_I don't like this kid already. He gives me a bad vibe._ Naruto frowned a bit, but decided to at least meet the boy before he judged him based on feelings.

Team Shadow's genin waved to their sensei. She brushed a lock of green hair from her eyes and waved back. "These are my genin, Kakashi-taicho. The blonde one is Naruto, the red-head is Izo Gankona, and the girl is Shinkei Sentoki."

The white-haired jounin looked lazily at the three. The bottom half of his face was covered by a mask, and his left eye was covered by his headband. "Hey. I'm Kakashi, obviously. This is my genin team, Team 7. The one with black hair is Sasuke Uchiha, pinky is Sakura Haruno, and the one with camo pants is Teki Uragiri." He turned around and pointed at an elderly man with grey hair and a beard. He had a bottle of alcohol in his hand and seemed drunk by the way he wobbled. "This is Tazuna-san. We'll be escorting him to the Land of the Waves."

"Isn't the blonde one too short to be a ninja?"

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" Naruto rushed at the man, but Shinkei quickly punched him square on the head and dragged him back to his place near Kurai.

"Are you and your team ready, Kurai?" Kakashi holstered his backpack and looked at his fellow jounin. Kurai looked at the three, looked back and nodded. "Alright then, let's head out. Sasuke and Teki in the front, followed by Tazuna-san and myself, then Kurai and Shinkei, with Naruto, Izo, and Sakura in the back."

They set off, following orders and getting in formation right after passing the gate to the wilderness outside. The genin didn't even have time to conversate with one another. For as far as any of them could see, the road kept straight to the west.

The wind rustled the leaves on the trees lining the road, and Kakashi's eye squinted slightly, but soon it went back to normal. Of course no one was paying attention to his eye, so nothing came about it. _If he's here, then that must mean...yes, it has to be._ He sighed into his mask and stuck his hands into his pockets. _Can't I get** one** mission that's easy?__ I swear, Hokage-sama is out to get me._

In the back, with the two rivals and the female member of Team 7, a conversation had already started. "Hey, Sakura-chan! I haven't seen you since the last day at the Academy."

_Remember, Sakura, you promised yourself you wouldn't be as mean to others._ "Hey, Naruto. How've you been?"

"Pretty good! I got put on this team with Shinkei over there and tomato brains over here. They're not too bad." Naruto smiled at Izo and nudged him with an elbow. The boy grunted in response.

"Moron."

"Teme."

"Whatever. You're lucky I'm not in the mood to beat your ass."

"Ya, sure," Naruto said sarcastically.

Sakura raised one eyebrow, but smiled at the same time at the boys' rivalry.

"Remeber, I'm going to be Hokage, not you, Goldilocks." Izo grinned, which was eerily similar to Naruto's.

"Not in a million years! I'll kick your ass right now!" Naruto raised a fist, but made no move to carry out his threat.

"Calm down you two. I'm pretty sure you're _both_ too short to become Hokage, anyway." Sakura giggled.

Naruto whined. "Awwww, Sakura-chan is mean!" He pouted playfully.

"I'm at _least_ two inches taller than him!" Izo ground his teath together and walked closer to Naruto. "See!"

"You'll see, in a few years, I'm gonna have a growth spurt!" Naruto grinned, imagining himself much taller.

_I'm already jealous of the relationship these two have. I wish I had something like that...maybe with Ino, if she didn't keep trying to steal Sasuke-kun away from me! _Sakura sighed.

She turned her head to watch Naruto and Izo, who were having a contest to see who was taller, eahc trying to stand on their tippie toes. Again Sakura giggled. _This Izo reminds me of Sasuke-kun, Naruto, and Shikamaru all together. Naruto's rival, wants to be Hokage, but too lazy to do anything about Naruto's challenges._

Finally she heard fists flying through the air and she sighed again. "Do I have to kick the crap out of _both_ of you?"

About ten minutes later, Naruto and Izo had stopped fighting, but were both pouting and on opposite sides of Sakura. The girl look annoyed, her fists red with the amount of poundings she had given them. Up in the front, Sasuke and Teki were quiet, mostly due to Sasuke ignoring Teki, and the other boy giving up on a one-sided conversation all together. In the middle, Kurai was talking to Shinkei about boys and how to kick them where it hurts when they're being perverted. Kakashi was listening to Tazuna talk about his homeland and once in a while talking about Konoha when Tazuna stopped his story to drink.

All was peaceful...until wickedly bladed chains shot out from the bushes on either side of Kakashi and Tazuna. In a split second, Kakashi pushed Tazuna out of the way, but had no time to escape himself. The wrapped around his body until he was completely imobile. Kurai had rushed up to help him, but dozens of kunai and shuriken kept her occupied. All of a sudden, whoever or whatever was on the other side of the bladed chains pulled with ferocity, and the white-haired jounin blasted into a million chunks of meat. There was nothing recognizable left of the giant pile of mush.

Seeing this, Sakura and Shinkei screamed at the top of their lungs. Naruto, completely stunned, tried to get into a battle stance. Izo turned around, his back against Naruto's giving the blonde reassurance. Sasuke was carrying an unconscious Teki, who had fainted at the sight of his sensei being torn to shreds.

All of a sudden, the weapons barraging Kurai stopped, only to be replaced with quick-flying paper bombs. They whizzed through the air, not giving Kurai enough time to dodged. They landed on her, and stuck to her body. Their corners lit on fire, signaling the explosion was coming soon. She looked at the genin and jumped high into the air.

At the apex of her jump, which had been dozens of feet high, the paper bombs went off, causing a small earthquake. Naruto, seeing his sensei beeing blown to bits, just stared at the bits of flesh raining from the sky. A dark feeling settled over his body, and red chakra slowly seeped from his body. _What's...what's happening? What's this feeling?_

Then, out of seemingly nowhere, two armored and lightly robed figures appeared a little up the road. The chains retracted into their claws, leaving about ten feet out between the two.

The Demon Brothers had arrived.

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><p>Hey guys! Well, here is chapter 6! Finals are over as of today, so expect quicker updates. This chapter reached 3000 or so words. That's almost 900 more than the previous highest. There were a few things I thought I wanted to say in these ending author notes, but I can't remember. Oh well! Maybe I'll remember by next chapter.<p>

Who is this new boy, Teki, and what are his abilities ?What did the hooded man do to Naruto? How will the genin get of this situation? Will the Kyuubi's chakra leak out of Naruto? Read the next installment to find out, in Chapter 7: Conversation with the Kyuubi.


	7. Combat and Conversation

Hey there, everyone! I know, I know, I haven't updated in a LONG time. I got caught up in enjoying my winter break and have been slacking off on my story.I deeply apologize for my procrastination, and I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you guys. :) Anyway, thanks for the new reviews, I will take them into consideration when choosing a pairing. As for the Naruto/Kyuubi mental link, you'll see it for the first time this chapter. (Kinda hinted at it last chapter.) Anyway, on to the story! (OH, and I forgot to mention, I changed the title, because it seemed more fitting.)

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><p>Chapter 7: Combat and Conversation<p>

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><p>The Demon Brothers ran side by side to the group. They veered their path to Tazuna, and the old man scrambled back in fear. Shinkei slid in front of him, holding up a kunai with two hands. Her face showed determination, but her body was shaking with fear.<p>

"Out of the way, little girl!"

"Or we'll cut you down!"

The two brothers extended their claw arms and aimed for Shinkei. The girl closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. _So this is where I...die._

But she didn't. She didn't feel anything pierce her body, although she heard it. She slowly opened her eyes in horror. Naruto was standing in front of her, both claws piercing his back. His head was lowered, so she couldn't see his face through the shadows his hair created.

A demonic voice echoed through everyone's eardrums. "If you lay a hand on her..." All of a sudden, the two brothers leaped back a few feet. Naruto turned around, his fists balled, and his head still lowered. "I'll kill you."

Then he dropped down into an animal-like stance on all fours and looked up. His eyes were red and slitted.

One of the brothers took a step back. "Wha-what the hell?"

With inhuman speed, Naruto bounded on all fours, and before anyone could react, he punched one of the brothers across the face, sending him flying back. Naruto grabbed the chain with both hands and pulled, yelling with anger. The chain split apart, but some of the blade had dug into Naruto's palms. Not noticing, however, Naruto looked around for the other brother, his entire body running on instinct. All of a sudden, Naruto dropped to all fours and immediately jumped to his left.

The ground when the blonde had been standing on a second ago exploded. Out of the dust, the other brother ran out his claw extended again. He slashed at Naruto's head, but the genin stopped the swing with one hand. The Demon brother's face was filled with surprise and fear. Then, Naruto closed his fist, crushing the man's weapon under the force of his grip.

The man flinched. "Damn kid. What the hell are you?" Sasuke suddenly appeared under the missing-nin and kicked upwards, hitting him square in the bottom of his jaw.

Even as the man left the ground from the force of the kick, Naruto punched his stomach before he got a foot off the ground, sending him flying towards his brother, who was unconscious next to the road.

Still not totally beaten, the brother threw a kunai at Tazuna in a desperate attempt to finish his objective. The leaves in front of the old man blew away as Kakashi appeared out of thin air and grabbed the weapon in mid-air casually.

The missing-nin gasped in surprise, and before he knew it, Kakashi threw the kunai at him. But unlike what the man thought was going to happen, the kunai flew past his head, only to be caught by Kurai and pressed against the brother's neck. "It's over."

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><p>After that, things had gone by quickly. Naruto's wounds healed amazingly fast, surprising even Kakashi and Kurai. Although none of the genin brought it up, they all remembered Naruto's change. Once, a few hours after the incident Izo had tried to ask Naruto about it, but Kakashi interrupted before he could get a word out. Naruto held a solemn look on his face for a long time.<p>

The two jounin interrogated the Demon Brothers, but after several hours of no useful information, they left them under a genjutsu and tied them to a tree. Night had fallen, and it had been almost nine hours since the attack. They had gained about a mile of ground, and had set up camp for the night.

Kakashi got everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, there are three tents. Tazuna-san and I will be in one, the women in another, and the boys in the last one."

Izo looked slightly annoyed, but kept his mouth shut. Sasuke just continued looking gloomy and said, "Tch."

"It's eleven right now, and you can go to sleep anytime you want to, but be warned, everyone will take turns watching camp in pairs of two. First shift will be Sasuke and I, second is Naruto and Kurai, third will be Teki and Izo, and the last shift will be Sakura and Shinkei, with each shift lasting two hours." Kakashi looked over at the old man. "Tazuna-san?" The old man grunted his acknowledgement. "We need to talk." Sweat dropped from the old man's brow.

Naruto gloomily got up from his seat at the edge of camp and he trotted over to his sensei, taking a seat next to her. "When it's our shift, sensei, I want to talk about a few things with you."

Kurai looked a bit worried, but smiled anyway. "Sure thing, blondie."

Naruto's mood seemed to improve more after that. Kurai watched him go over to the other genin and start to open up a bit to conversation. _I'm glad he's getting back to normal. I wonder what he's going through right now..._

"Kurai, I need to talk to you. Privately." She turned around to see her fellow jounin standing on the edge of camp, the fire's light barely reaching him.

_It seems I'm a very popular person to talk to this evening. _The green-haired woman got up and walked over to her former ANBU captain. "Yes, taicho?"

"I talked with Tazuna-san about our little friends back there, and he gave me quite the interesting response." Kakashi sighed.

"Is that so? What'd he say?"

"Well, apparently, he has the infamous crime lord of the Land of Waves, Gato, on his tail." Kakshi sighed.

"That's not good for your health."

"Even worse, it seems we'll be running into more trouble soon. This time, from higher ranked missing-nin."

This time both jounin sighed in frustration. After a few seconds of silence, Kurai spoke. "Is that all?" Kakashi shook his head. "It's never that simple."

"He told me that if the bridge he needs to work on isn't finished, the Land of Waves will stay under Gato's control. That man has been a thorn in Konoha's side for too long, so I think we should continue with the mission, despite the danger."

Kurai thought about the genin worriedly, but after careful thought, she agreed. "If we pull this off, the Land of Waves could be a powerful ally in the future."

"Alright then, it's settled. Don't mention anything to any of the genin, except maybe Naruto. It's up to you, though."

"Why Naruto? That idiot will probably open his mouth and tell the others" Kurai looked at the white-haired man with a confused expression.

"I think it would be a good idea to let him know of the dangers ahead, in case we have another, uh," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head, "incident."

"Oh, I see. Alright, I'll let him know during our shift. He wanted to talk to me anyway, and I have a good guess at what it might be about."

Kakashi nodded. "I think we should join our genin back at the camp, or else they might get suspicious, if you know what I mean."

Kurai blushed and growled in anger. "You perv!" She slapped Kakashi, sending him flying. After the steam stopped pouring out of the woman's ears, Kakashi got up and raised his hands in his defense.

"I meant that they might think we're talking about something they shouldn't know, and they'll get curious!" Kurai blanched, then immediately stammered an apology. Kakashi just walked past her cautiously. "Perv." He walked away, leaving a flustered, and very angry Kurai.

Kakashi walked back into camp, Kurai close behind, the others of the group to busy talking to notice that they had gone.

Another hour passed by quickly, and already everybody was asleep, except Kakashi and Sasuke who were on watch. Their shift passed by fairly quickly as well, with almost no words crossing between the two except for the occasional, "Did you hear that?" and "It was nothing."

Kakashi woke up Kurai, who was apparently having a very naughty dream and blushing, which then made Kakashi nose bleed, which then made Kurai slap him, after which she apologized, saying she thought he was, "someone else". He grumbled and went back to his tent, slipping inside and quietly going to sleep.

Sasuke, after walking into his tent, lightly kicked Naruto awake. "Your shift, dobe. Don't let anyone slit our throats." Naruto just got up, already dressed, and shoved past Sasuke, bumping their shoulders purposely and angrily. All Sasuke said was, "Tch, dobe. Watch it", and went to sleep.

Finally, after many hours of waiting, Naruto would have the chance to talk with his sensei alone. Naruto's eyebrows scrunched up. _I will find out what happened from sensei, and I'll make sure you never act up like that again._

A deep rumbling boomed inside Naruto's head. **_Insolent child. I will do what I please, when I please._** Naruto gulped as he realized that rumbling was the fox laughing.

_Shut up, stupid cat._

**_Don't push it, kid, or I'll eat you for breakfast._**

Naruto knew anything he heard, said, saw, and thought would automatically go to the Kyuubi, and he had known ever since he had met the fox after he "changed". They hadn't talked much, but the conversation had shaken Naruto.

But he could think about that later. Right now he wanted to talk to his jounin, and here she was, in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

After a few seconds of silence, "Well Naruto, you wanted to talk, right?"

Naruto nodded. He sat down, careful to sit as far away from the tents as possible, and Kurai followed suit. "Sensei, I wanted to talk away from the others, because I didn't want them to hear this. I didn't want them to hear us talk about...him, or for them to know he was inside of me. I'm not ready for them, or anyone, to know. There's a lot I want to ask you."

Kurai sighed. _I guessed correctly. _"Naruto, before you continue, I want you to know that you can trust me more than anyone, and I will protect you from everyone and everything. That is a mission given to me by Hokage-sama himself. I was also ordered to tell certain things, and not tell others things. But before we get too into anything else, I what I'm about to tell you is one of the seven highest held secrets in all of Konoha."

Naruto looked scared, confused, and excited all at the same time. "Seven?"

Kurai nodded. "One of them you already know. You are the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko." Naruto gulped and nodded his head. "The other ones may or may not be revealed in due time, but there is one other one I was ordered to tell you should you show signs of the Kyuubi's influence. And I'm sure he knows most, if not all of these seven secrets. He has a long history with Konoha."

Naruto leaned in closer, sweat dripping in anticipation.

"You know the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama Senju?"

"Of course."

"You must have heard the story of how he died in the Academy, right?"

"Ya, of course. It was one of my favorites. He died saving hundreds of shinobi in one of the many revolutions that were happening across the world near the time after Konoha's founding."

"Well, that's what they teach, and what they tell the general populace and other villages. But it's a lie. The number of people who know the truth does not even go past two digits. And your about to be one of them. The truth about the Shodai Hokage is..." Kurai looked around, cast a technique that let her send her thoughts into another person's head, and directed them to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened, and for the second time in his life, (the first being when he found out about the Kyuubi), he was absolutely and utterly speechless.

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><p>Well ladies and gents, I wanted to leave it at a cliffhanger. I promise you'll find out next chapter what she told him, and in the very beginning, too! So stay tuned! (And review please. :D ) About the Seven Secrets of Konoha (as I like to call them now), you'll gradually find out about them. Some may be blatantly obvious or already known, but some may be totally unexpected. Next chapter, "Secret of the Shodai Hokage". See y'all soon!<p> 


	8. Secret of the Shodai Hokage

Hey there guys and gals! I know it's been awhile, and I really have no excuse. I'm really bad at updating, but I have a new resolution to update way more often. If it works out, well you'll see more updates. I really like it when I update, so it's not like I don't want to, just not enough time in the day. But I recently read a bunch of awesome fics on this site, and it got me pumped, so here is chapter 8 for you guys!

To Inu-Neko Ayumi: It's rated M for violence and language, and much later, sexual content. Angst will come later on, trust me. :)

To Brandon Graham 88: Thanks! I appreciate the review.

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><p>Secret of the Shodai Hokage<p>

Naruto stammered, not knowing what to say. "How can that be possible?"

Kurai smiled. "Do you doubt Hashirama-sama's abilities?"

"Of course not!" Naruto swallowed hard. "But how is it possible, that...that he's still alive?"

"Shhhhh! Don't say it so loud!" Kurai looked around quickly before resuming the conversation. "Well you know how he has Wood Release, right? Because of that, his cells never stop regenerating, creating an infinite loop in his DNA, and thus he can't age."

Naruto was still confused, but he got the gist of it. "But I thought he died in battle?"

"That was merely one of his techniques, a wood clone that bled and died like a human. Very remarkable actually."

Naruto thought for a bit._ Hashirama Senju is alive. It's hard to believe. It's even harder to believe sensei told me this._ "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it ties in to what I'm about to tell you. After everyone thought Hashirama-sama died, he continued working for Konoha's benifit in hiding. Only the Hokages and a few trusted individuals were told, but not even Kakashi-taicho knows." Kurai shifted he position closer to the campfire. "Anyway, twelve years ago, when the Kyuubi attacked, the Shodai Hokage was forced into action. He helped the Yondaime and Sandaime hold off the beast until a masked man intervened. Mina...I mean Yondaime fought this man and forced him back, but not before the masked man caused some trouble involving you."

"Of course you were a newborn, so you had no idea what was going on, but you parents died protecting you from the Kyuubi. Then, not taking their sacrifice in vain, Yondaime sealed the fox inside of you at the cost of his own life. Hashirama-sama chased the masked man, but to no avail."

Naruto thought for a moment. "So the Kyuubi attacking Konoha wasn't a coincidence. It was a planned attack." He paused. "You still haven't told me why your telling me, and not the others."

"You have the Kyuubi inside you. You'll soon learn that's a pass to a lot of restricted information. It makes you special. Gives you an advantage. No one who knows who's inside of you will want to mess with you, for fear of angering you. Your best weapon should be the illusion that you control the Kyuubi. It's the ultimate bluff. But only use it in times of great need."

Naruto nodded gravely.

"One last thing. Very soon, things are going to get ugly. Hokage-sama even predicts there might be another war soon. So stay on your toes, and remember, I'm here for you. You can tell me anything." Kurai smiled warmly, and Naruto grinned alongside her.

"Sure thing, sensei."

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><p>The next morning, the gang set off for the Land of Waves again. They made lots of ground, and didn't run into any trouble. After a quick boat ride, and finally crossing into the borders of Tazuna's homeland, they continued their trek on foot.<p>

Kakashi, who was walking next to Tazuna in the front, turned his head back and called back to everyone. "Another few hours and we'll be there." All the genin sighed in relief.

Naruto groaned after a few minutes. "Are we there yet, Kurai-sensei?" Kurai only chuckled and shook her head.

Another few minutes passed by. "Are we there yet, now?"

"No, Naruto, and asking five minutes from now won't change my answer." Kurai rolled her eyes.

After ten minutes of silence, "Okay, I've waited twice the amount as I did before. Are we there-"

"NO!" Everyone screamed in unison.

Naruto just pouted and crossed his arms, muttering to himself.

All of a sudden, Kakashi stopped the group. He felt another's presence lingering in the forest. Then, the presence suddenly disappeared. Kakashi waited another minute before shaking his head. "Nevermind. They're gone."

A few miles away, the Demon of the Seven Swordsman was retreating farther away, back to his base of operations. _Two jounin? And one of them is...her. I'll need Haku if I want any chance._

Back to Naruto and the gang, they had continued walking as if nothing had happened, but Kurai questioned Kakashi with ANBU hand signals. He explained that he had encountered Zabuza once before, so he had remembered his chakra signature, and that's what he had felt just now. They told each other to be careful, but non-chalant.

Even with the two jounin on full alert, they didn't catch anything for the next few hours, and by then they got to Tazuna's home town.

He smiled nostalgically. "I'm finally home. Soon, the bridge will be done, and Gato's reign will be over!"

Kakashi, Kurai, and all the genin smiled and the man's determination.

"Alright Tazuna-san, my team and I will escort you to your house while Kurai and her genin scout the rest of the village. The old man and the young woman nodded an affirmitive.

"Let's go Team Shadow." The blonde, red-head, and brunette all followed their sensei eagerly.

No one noticed Sakura steal a quick glance at Naruto's back as his group walked in the opposite direction. _Be careful, baka._ She smiled as he heard the whiskered boy's loud voice dissipate in the distance. _Did I just worry about** Naruto**?_

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><p>"Sensei, when are you gonna teach us some really awesome jutsu? Like tree walking, or water walking, or maybe some genjutsu or something." The blonde propped his hands up behind his head in Naruto-fashion.<p>

"That's right, you weren't in the same training program as Shinkei and Izo. In their early years at the ANBU academy, they learned to tree and water walk. That's also where they learned their chakra affinities. But you were put into the program last minute, and at the very end. Looks like I'll have to have some private lessons with you. In fact, we should get that over with right now."

The green-haired jounin stopped and turned around. "Shinkei, Izo. You two are perfectly capable of scouting on your own. Don't split up, and report to me immedietly if you see anything orth reporting. Shinkei, you can use your snesory abilities to locate us."

"Hai, sensei."

"Let's go, Naruto." The blonde genin followed Kurai as the two headed off to find some clearing in which to train in.

"So from what I remember, Naruto, you have three specialties. Shadow clones, which is a very odd specialty I might add, toad summonings, and the Rasengan."

"Well that last one is only thanks to you. I had never really been in a real fight before our first training session. It pushed me to use my shadow clones in different ways, and getting over my poor chakra control was a good use for them."

Kurai nodded as the two neared a nice clearing in the surrounding forest. Perfect for teaching the little bundle of energy.

"Let's work on something you'll grasp quickly, first. Create a shadow clone." Naruto obliged. Kuria then made her own darkness clone, which seemed to morph from her own shadow like liquid. "Now our two clones will go deeper into the forest and play rock-paper-scissors." Seeing her student's confused face, she smiled calmly. "You'll see." The two clones went into the forest.

A minute later, Naruto suddenly remebered beating his sensei in a game of rock-paper-scissors not moments ago. "Wait, what?"

He looked up to the jounin questioningly. She decided to quench his curiosity. "When a solid clone, like water, shadow, darkness, etc. dissipates, all of its memories and experiences get transferred to the original. Now normally this is used for scouting dangerous areas, but for someone like you who has massive amounts of chakra, it can be very useful. Can you tell me why?"

Naruto rubbed his chin, thinking very carefully for a few minutes. "Dunno."

Kurai deadpanned. "Dumbass! You can use it to train quicker! If you have ten clones working on one thing, when they all dissipate, you'll have ten times the amount of experience you actually learned. And since you can create clones in the hundreds, a jutsu that take years to learn could take you a few days."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and excitement. "AWESOME!"

Kurai smiled at his antics. "Yup. Now I want you to create fifty shadow clones and gather chakra at your feet."

Once again, Naruto created the seal and fifty other blondes appeared. They all formed the ram seal, and little dust clouds swirled at everyone's feet. "Good. Now each one of you try to walk up a tree." Fifty pairs of feet were heard trying to scramble, and in less than five seconds, fifty 'umphs' were heard, followed shortly by lots of complaining. But soon, there were more sounds of feet against tree bark, followed by more groans of pain.

This cycle repeated for about thirty minutes until Kurai called over the real Naruto. "Now dissispate all the clones."

Forming the Ram seal, there was a poof of smoke, and Naruto held his head in pain. "Too...much...information."

Kurai quickly ran to Naruto's side and gripped his shoulders with both her hands firmly. "Naruto!" she yelled in concern.

He shook his head and grunted. "I'm okay, sensei. I just had a really sharp pain in my head from all the experiences being tranferred to me."

"You scared the shit out of me, dumbass!" Kurai pressed Naruto's head to her chest, causing Naruto's nose to bleed and his cheeks to flush a deep red. She calmed herself and looked Naruto in the eye, as he was wiping his nose. "Don't dissipate more than ten to twenty clones at once, if you can help it."

"Got it, sensei." Naruto paused for a second, then faster than she could react, wrapped his hands around Kurai and hugged her tightly. His buried head muffled his voice. "That's the first time someone has shown that they care about my safety."

The second he said that, it tugged at the jounin's heart. _This poor kid has never had anyone to look after him his whole life._"I'm here for you, Naruto. Always."

Naruto pulled away and rubbed his eyes as if to wipe away tears, but when he lifted his hands, he wore a big smile. "Better get back to training, then."

Kurai couldn't help but smile as well.

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><p>"Shinkei, did you see that? It seemed suspicious."<p>

"No, Izo. Nor did I see the past dozen or so suspicious things." The brunette rolled her eyes.

"But I really did see something this time!" Izo pouted.

"That's what you say EVERY time." _I swear, sometimes I think he's trying to annoy me on purpose._

Izo sighed. _We're all alone now. It would be the perfect time to ask her..._

"You look troubled, tomato head. What's going on in that usually empty brain of yours?"

_Am I that easy to read? Damn._ The male genin fidgeted with his fingers and looked down at his feet as they walked. "I, umm, I was w-wondering i-if you, ya know, wanted to m-maybe catch lunch together o-or something later?"

Shinkei stopped and gazed at him for a long time. He was avoiding all eye contact. "Like a date?"

Izo's heart started beating faster and faster, until he thought it was going to burst out of his chest for sure. "Y-ya. Like a...d-date."

Shinkei looked to her left in a downwardly direction, and a sad expression took over her visage. "Sorry, Izo. I don't like you like that."

Izo's heart skipped a few beats, until his brain registered what she had said. Shadows clung to the top half of his face, and his lips quivered.

"I'm sorry, Iz-"

"It's that yellow haired bastard isn't it." It was more a statement than a question. Shinkei cringed as her teammate started walking again abruptly, with a face of pure rage on his face. His voice dripped a venomous connotation. "I'll kill him."

Shinkei gasped and started walking after him. "Izo, I don't like him like that. At least I don't think so..." The girl balled her fists and bumped them against her temples. "I don't know what I feel, but you shouldn't take it out on him. He didn't do anything!"

Izo kept walking, but Shinkei didn't take well to being ignored. "Listen you, _asshole. _The reason I don't like you is because you treat everybody like shit based on your presumptions." And with that, Shinkei stormed off in the direction in which she sensed Kurai and Naruto's chakra signatures.

Izo stopped with a sad look on his face. "Shinkei, wait! I'm sorry, I can change. I promise I won't judge people. I'll be nicer! Anything!" He ran after her, and slowed as he caught up. "Shinkei..."

She completely ignored him, and he decided the best course of action was to stay silent. _Way to fuck it up, idiot. You made her mad, no, furious. Now she'll never go out with you._

Shinkei felt the rest of the team barely a few dozen feet into the forest. As she and her closely followed companion made their way into the clearing, they saw Naruto standing upon a little pond near the other edge of the area, with Kurai watching carefully.

The blonde was cheering excitedly. "I did it, sensei! I'm walking on water!"

"Yes, yes, good job. Now get over here before you fall in again." Naruto trotted over to solid ground and he noticed his two teammates. "Hey Shinkei!" He looked over at his rival. "Hey there teme-" He stopped when he saw the boy on the verge of tears. "Hey, Izo. Are you okay?" The boy simply nodded and turned his head away, covering his eyes with red tufs of hair.

"What happened, you two?" asked the jounin.

"Nothing, sensei. We finished scouting, and there's nothing to report." She shot a menacing glance at Izo, but it softened when it saw his poor state. "Nothing at all," she said in a lower voice.

Kurai sighed. "I'm gone for thirty minutes...and something happens." A pause. "Whatever. Let's get back to Tazuna-san's house. Maybe we can solve...whataver the hell is going on, over there."

An awkward silence settled over the group as they made their way to the old man's house. Expect for the occasional cough and sigh, no wordsd were exchanged between anyone. As they neared the door, Naruto sighed rather loudly. "Well that was awkward."

The rest of Team Shadow deadpanned.

They entered the bridge builder's abode, greetings were exchanged, food offered (and taken), and reports of no movement.

"Wow, it is _really_ misty out there," commented Sakura. Kakashi caught Kurai's eyes, and a silent message passed between them._ Be on full alert_.

* * *

><p>Well, I'm prretty sure this is my longest chapter. Again, I want to say that now that I have my internet, I will be updating chapters every week or so, again. If you have any questions about this chapter, or any previous one, feel free to leave it in a review, or a private message. If not, leave a review anyway! It motivates me to update quicker.<p>

So about the relationships between some of the male and female characters.

Obviously, Izo likes Shinkei. Shinkei thinks she might like Naruto, but she's still confused. Naruto is as oblivious as ever, but will he stay that way? Sakura is shown to have some care for Naruto's safety, but is it more than that? And what of Kurai? What does Naruto feel about her, and vice versa? Will I stop asking questions? Who knows? Not me. Oh, there we go.

What will happen next? Find out in Chapter 9: A Battle, and Naruto's Unique Affinity!


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